tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104692645589867745.post4032617148815364453..comments2018-03-17T16:05:04.105-06:00Comments on The Anarchist Soccer Mom: DeadlinesAnarchist Soccer Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18104642282433680432noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104692645589867745.post-58685285244584673392012-12-27T01:42:04.791-07:002012-12-27T01:42:04.791-07:00Don&#39;t mean to sound harsh, but I think you&#39...Don&#39;t mean to sound harsh, but I think you&#39;re being a little over dramatic or over paranoid or both with your conclusion re: the lug nuts. I&#39;ve had something similar happen in a vehicle I used to drive. About 5 or 6 years ago, I took my car in to have the winters put on in the fall. Immediately I noticed a very slight, almost imperceptible vibration in the steering wheel at high speeds. I brought the car back that week and had the manager drive it around with me in the passenger seat. He didn&#39;t notice anything out of the ordinary, and neither did I as a passenger. It was subtle enough that I brushed it off as the difference in having smaller, steel wheels and thicker treads than the larger aluminum with &#39;performance&#39; tires that I was used to. I drove through that winter without a problem, and then parked it in my parents&#39; garage in the spring as I was going to be away for the summer. Other than having my father run the engine for a few minutes once a month, little maintenance was done to it while it was parked. Returning in the fall, I did my own brief (too brief, it would turn out) check of the car, changed the oil and filter, and got it back on the road. It was fine for a few months, but in the early morning of January 1st as I returned to Ottawa from a night out in Montreal, the previously subtle vibration that had begun over a year earlier grew gradually into a much more intense thudding, similar to what you describe, over just a few minutes. Travelling at about 110 km/h, I slowed a little and immediately decided I&#39;d exit the highway at the next ramp to check it out, but before I could finish that thought, the car made a loud BANG and fell to the right. I was shocked when I looked out the passenger window, and saw my front-right wheel rolling along in the lane next to me. A small part of me was tempted to panic, but at the same time I noted how surprisingly <i>easy</i> it was to maintain control of my three-wheeled car. I let it coast to a stop and steered it onto the shoulder. The freezing cold I experienced while jogging after my wheel down the long, straight, slightly down-hill highway for a few kilometers was much worse than anything I had experienced in the car itself. Walking back with a heavy wheel slung over my shoulder was even more difficult. After waiting a few hours for a new year&#39;s day tow truck, I had it delivered to the nearest garage and left it there for a few days til they re-opened after the holiday. After describing my suspicions to the mechanic of the wheel change over a year previous, he speculated that a few of the nuts had gradually loosened over time from the vibration of driving, as well as the expansion and contraction of the metal through the changing seasons since. Once they had loosened enough to fall off, the unbalanced force on the remaining bolts had sheared them clean off. I had the rotor replaced and started the new year down over $1500. Looking back, I don&#39;t feel I was ever really in any serious danger, despite the critical failure of the vehicle and the resulting inconvenience. I find it odd that you wouldn&#39;t suspect whoever last did work on the wheels in your top 3. The suspicions of your ex-husband remind me of my own parents, who recently went through a divorce. My mother was constantly accusing my father of one thing or another during this time, including the sabotage of her vehicle. I occasionally indulged her and investigated, especially when the sabotage claim came up, but found that her situation was completely attributable to having to take care of things she never did previously. She had never been the one to maintain her car, and when I asked my father, it became clear that she had just missed several regular maintenance milestones. Maybe your mechanic was just trying to divert your attention away from his own failure to properly secure the wheels the last time he had them off by suggesting you go to police?Mich Posterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11191563304465698707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104692645589867745.post-25528861142150492862011-07-21T15:06:09.443-06:002011-07-21T15:06:09.443-06:00Your posts always make me feel so much, and such i...Your posts always make me feel so much, and such is usually the case with terrific writing; but this one just makes me feel deep sorrow. I can&#39;t even imagine what these trials must feel like, but instead of a woe-is-me approach, which you would be completely entitled to, you have refreshing resolve and almost reverence for the gravity of the hand you&#39;ve been dealt. It&#39;s brilliant and heart-aching all at the same time. I love you for it. Sure wish I could lend a hand someway, but I&#39;m amongst the many who route for you and I wanted to let you know.stephanie joyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02119244060440043888noreply@blogger.com